Etikettarkiv: thomas g. culp

In the beginning of May 2009, a woman was all over the news. That woman’s name is Connie Culp and she is the first person to undergo a near-total face transplant in the United States.

The procedure took 22 hours and was performed on December 10, 2008. 80 percent of Culp’s face was transplanted. Her entire face was replaced except for her upper eyelids, forehead, lower lip and chin.

The 46-year old mother Connie Culp was shot in the face with a shotgun by her husband Thomas G. Culp in September 2004 outside a bar in Ohio. Her husband tried to perform a murder-suicide, but he failed and both of them survived.

Connie Culp lost most of the midsection of her face and from 2004 to 2008 she got a dozens of surguries. Before her facetransplant, her disfigurement prevented her to eat and breathe on her own.

After the transplant, Connie was blind but she has learned braille and can use her other senses quite normal.

Connie Culp after her face transplant

The husband was convicted of aggrevated attempted murder and serves a 7-year prison sentence. Connie says she has forgiven him and that she is waiting when he gets out of prison.